Elise's Grilled Chicken with Tomato Tarragon Sauce was what got me thinking about the combination of chicken, tomatoes, and tarragon. I also saw a recipe for Grilled Chicken Breasts with Sun-Dried and Fresh Tomato Salsa in Fine Cooking Annual, and that same cookbook also had Sauteed Chicken Breasts with Tomato-Tarragon Pan Sauce. This recipe is a compilation of those sources, and I loved the way it turned out. If you don't have any fresh tarragon growing, I think basil, oregano, or thyme could all be substituted here.

Trim all visible fat and tendons from chicken breasts. If breasts are super thick, you may wish to trim off the tenders and save for another use. Sprinkle poultry seasoning over top side of chicken and rub with your hand to spread around. Heat 1 T olive oil in heavy frying pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic cloves, saute about 1 minute to flavor the oil, then remove garlic. Add chicken and saute about 4-5 minutes on top side, then turn and cook 3-4 minutes on second side. (Actual cooking time will depend on the thickness of the chicken, how hot you have your stove, and the pan. Chicken should be well-browned, and firm but not hard to the touch when it's done.)

Remove chicken to serving plates. Scrape out any accumulated chicken bits from pan, turn heat to high, then pour in salsa and cook about 30 seconds to one minute, until salsa is warmed through. Spoon salsa over chicken and serve immediately.

Variations: I think you could make this with good quality canned tomatoes, although the flavor would not be quite as fresh. Basil, oregano, or thyme could be substituted for the tarragon if you don't have fresh tarragon. (I would reduce the amount if I used oregano or thyme.)

This makes a generous amount of salsa. You could serve the leftover salsa as a spread on pita bread or on scrambled eggs.

I chose the South Beach Diet to manage my weight using The Glycemic Index partly so I wouldn't have to count calories, carbs, points, or fat grams, but if you want nutritional information for a recipe, I recommend entering the recipe into Calorie Count, which will calculate it for you.

Posts may include links to my affiliate account at Amazon.com, and Kalyn's Kitchen earns a few cents on the dollar if readers purchase the items I recommend, so thanks for supporting my blog when you shop at Amazon!

If you make a recipe, share it with the hashtag #kalynskitchen on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter so I can see what you're cooking!

Posts may include links to my affiliate account at Amazon.com, and this blog earns a few cents on the dollar if readers purchase the items I recommend, so thanks for supporting my blog when you shop at Amazon!

21 comments:

Something else that can be substituted is fresh Mexican mint marigold. It's a perfect substitute for tarragon since it has a similar flavor.

If you live in Texas, growing tarragon in a garden is just about impossible. Growing Mexican mint marigold isn't. It's a very easy-to-grow perennial that gets quite large. A bonus are the golden "marigold" like flowers you get in the fall.

Donna, I've heard that this type is also sometimes called "Texas Tarragon" and that it's stronger. Do you think it tastes the same? I'd love to try it.

Lucette, isn't it just wonderful? First year for me too.

Pille, thanks. Rand is so wonderful. I'm lucky to have him for a brother.

Maria, it's great on this chicken. I'll give you some basil next time I see you.

Tanna, sorry to hear your tarragon isn't growing this year. Thyme was recommended in the salsa part of the recipe from Fine Cooking, so I know it will be good. (I've never had a bad recipe yet from that Fine Cooking Annual cookbook.)

I love tarragon and tomato together! Which is good because my tarragon likes our cool summer - -unlike the basil which is really struggling. I have killed rather a large number of snails, though. Maybe I should try snail farming!Pretty dish - and, yes, your kebab is lovely...makes me hungry just looking at it!

I just bought a beautiful basil plant at Trader Joe's. They have huge plants for $2.99 each. Sometimes I get two or three of them. I have good light coming in my windows and they continue to grow beautifully.

Our tarragon is still very small so we have to be quite sparing with it. And RATS, my friend with too much tarragon in her garden hasn't insisted on handing me some this year. (She must have discovered that tarragon really is the best herb.)

-Elizabeth

P.S. Thanks for linking to my post on tarragon cream sauce. I hope that people on low-fat diets don't get thrown off by the title - maybe I should have called it "tarragon skim milk sauce"

++Donna, I've heard that this type is also sometimes called "Texas Tarragon" and that it's stronger. Do you think it tastes the same? I'd love to try it.++

It might be a bit stronger. I don't have a real good taste memory for it vs. tarragon, so I'm sort of helpless here.

One thing I can say about it is if you end up not caring for the flavor, it's still a great plant. :) I just whack it down to the ground once everything dies back and it comes back up in the spring. It handles heat and lots of sun very well, so it's great in that respect. It gets large, though, so be prepared. It also isn't something you want to move around...once it's in the ground, it's there to stay.

I would most likely us basil with this recipe. While we still have our tomatoes, I should fit this into cooking schedule. Schedule is used very loosely - like---- when I feel like doing it. I think that will be soon.

Basil would be great here, but I do highly recommend trying it with the tarragon sometime if you get your hands on some fresh tarragon. When I finally started growing tarragon in my garden, I really fell in love with it.

I make something sort of like this that's really easy. I put taco seasoning on my chicken, cheddar on top, then salsa. We eat it with sour cream. The chicken is nice and moist and delicious. I can't wait to try this one!

I'm so happy you're taking the time to comment on Kalyn's Kitchen! I love hearing from people who stop by, especially if you're sharing feedback or asking questions about a recipe I've posted here.

I've recently changed my comment settings so people can comment without signing in, but you will need to check the box to show you're a live person, and comments on older posts won't show up until I publish them. Thanks for understanding!

And if you really like the recipe, Pins, Shares, Tweets, and Yums are always appreciated!

Food Blogger Love!

Copyright Notice

All Photos and Original Text (C) Copyright: 2005-2017, By Kalyn's Kitchen® LLC. I grant permission for photos and recipe links to be used in recipe round-ups and copied to Pinterest and other social media sites. All Other Rights Reserved. (Other bloggers may post their adapted version of a recipe found here, with their own photos and recipe text, but please link back to the inspiring recipe on this site.)

Kalyn's Kitchen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.